NCDOT to begin Morrisville Parkway Railroad Crossing Bridge project

Work is expected to begin on May 12 on a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) project to replace a railroad crossing on Morrisville Parkway with a bridge to carry rail traffic over the road. This is one of a series of projects to improve at-grade crossings along the rail corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte.

A $13.6-million contract was awarded to Fred Smith Co. of Raleigh for the work.

In addition to the bridge, the project also includes about 1.5 miles of railroad construction between Morrisville Carpenter Road and Cary Parkway. That will include the realignment of railroad curves that should improve track speeds and reduce travel times between Raleigh and Charlotte.

The new bridge is scheduled to open by mid-November of 2016 and additional vegetation work should wrap up by May 15, 2017.

The Morrisville Parkway Grade Separation project is part of NCDOT's Sealed Corridor Program in partnership with CSX and Norfolk Southern. The goal of the program is to "seal" the rail corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte by eliminating or improving rail-highway street level crossings.

The project is also part of the Piedmont Improvement Program to modernize railroad track, roads and bridges along the corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte.